Man with The Movie Camera

Needless to say, “Man With The Movie Camera” is an excellent showcase of cinematography, in its showcase of cinematography. The opening sequences grant this consideration of the movie, “an experiment in the cinematic communication of visible events, executed without the aid of intertitles, without the aid of a scenario, without the aid of a theater”, and an experiment it is. On its surface, the movie is an open dialogue on the filming of human life as it naturally and organically takes form (specifically Russian daily city life – though the topic has international effect), and a great deal of the shots in the film are taken in major Soviet cities, such as Moscow and Kiev. An interesting narrative the docu-film portrays is the comparison of the camera to an eye, a stylistic comment on the aforementioned topic of filming natural city life. Vertov, director, carries this “eye” over to a point of omnipotence, creating scenes such as a woman covering her face while signing divorce papers, creating a secondary silent commentary on the power and pure visibility that the camera creates in its own manifestation. Shots such as one where the camera seems to move of its own free will solidify the camera as a potential main character if the film were to have one, as it seems to give the camera a voice of its own. Moreover, the docu-film uses all sorts of techniques, including slow, fast, and stop motions, as well as clever editing to make the movie a montage as opposed to a flowing, traditional story-telling film. This being said, the movie arguably has a plot of its own, following varying parts of life, such as work and employment, and recreation and enjoyment.